Labour MPs will wreck any hunt compromise

FOXHUNTING'S future was hanging in the balance yesterday as Labour MPs angrily threatened to wreck any Government attempt to find a compromise which might allow the sport to survive.

Alun Michael, the Countryside Minister whose job will be to introduce legislation on hunting, dropped a clear hint yesterday that he was looking for a compromise when he said he hoped that opinion in the Commons and the Lords would eventually "coalesce".

Yet ministers made no secret that they expect a large majority in favour of an outright ban in the Comons vote on March 18.

The outcome of a vote in the Lords is less certain. Last year, peers voted against any change in the law on hunting but now they are expected to vote for the so-called middle way option of introducing a system under which an outside body can license and supervise the hunts.

To encourage the peers to compromise, the Government has carefully preserved the option of using the Parliament Act to force an outright ban through a recalcitrant Lords.

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After the votes, Mr Michael will draw up a proposal based on what peers and MPs have said to present to the Commons before Easter. This may include an outright ban on hare coursing while foxhunting is made subject to stricter regulation. Legislation may follow later in the year.

The Government's approach won cautious support from the Countryside Alliance, the largest pressure group supporting the hunt. "The alliance remains confident that the Government is seeking a solution that respects both human rights and animal welfare.

"The alliance will, however, continue to warn Government of the consequences of any ban on hunting, which would not help a single family and would harm many."

But Robin Cook, Leader of the Commons, who voted for the middle way proposal last year, was warned by a succession of Labour MPs yesterday that they will settle for nothing short of an outright ban.

Tony Banks, the former sports minister, demanded that the Government revive the Bill which MPs passed last February and use the Parliament Act to override the Lords and force a ban through Parliament. "There is no room for compromise," he said. "This is a moral issue."

The call was echoed by Campaigning to Protect Hunted Animals, an anti-hunt group set up by the RSPCA, the League Against Cruel Sports and the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

John Rolls, of the group, said that if the Government used the Parliament Act, hunting could be illegal within 18 months.

Gordon Prentice, another outspoken opponent of hunting, said: "Why do we need to march the troops up to the top of the hill again when it is as plain as a pikestaff what the view is of this House of Commons?"

While the Government has the power to force through a ban, they have now committed themselves to trying to find a solution acceptable both to the Commons and the Lords.

Labour MPs denied that the hunting issue had been revived to reward backbenchers for supporting Stephen Byers, the Transport Secretary, under fire over the running of his department. Mr Banks dismissed the idea as "journalistic tosh" and "fanciful in the extreme".

But among Tories, the suspicion lingered that hunting had been raised because the Government wanted to distract attention from more serious issues.

Eric Forth, shadow leader of the House, claimed that Parliament would be having "debates on the subject of saving foxes, hares and failed Secretaries of State".

Nicholas Soames, another Tory MP, described it as "a spiteful and reckless attack on the rights of minorities, a total waste of time and an irresponsible delusion of public opinion".

Lord Strathclyde, Tory leader in the Lords, said: "We know exactly what's been going on. The cry goes out from No 10 that something must be found, something new and controversial. And, hey presto, here we go again: it's hunting, once more."